Front Page Story: Will Clemson offense have to rebuild, or just reload?

Nikki Steele takes an early look at what Clemson's offense might look like in 2014. Will the receivers be able to fill the void left by Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant? Who will replace the two starters on the line? Can Cole Stoudt win the quarterback job?Full Story »

Reloading. The talent is there, just need experience.

Re: Front Page Story: Will Clemson offense have to rebuild, or just reload?

[1]
Posted: Jan 8, 2014 3:04 AM

Can't wait to see what they gotta say bout the defense. Even losing breeland and possibly Vic, should still be much better than last year. Hope BJ Goodson, Boulware and Steward make for good competition. Not to mention Kellen Jones. I had class with him last semester and that boy breathes football. Hopefully Mackensie steps up and wins a corner spot. And the coaches figure out what to do with Blanks, Kearse, Smith, and Wiggins at their respective spots. Put the best players on the field in the best places for them to succeed and we will succeed.

Cole doesn't give us best chance to win. Sorry

Before you bash me, I love this QB and he is at the moment know our offense 10x more than Watson/Kelly. However, one thing Stoudt doesn't have the other two guys have. Speed.

Our offense need a QB who can make plays with his legs, we saw that countless times on many 3rd down and 2 yards situation boyd running over people to get us 1st downs. Kelly has speed and athletic ability to do that and so does Watson.

Cole can be fantastic game manager and be a starter at most of offenses around the country. But, our offense need a running QB to be effective.

Re: Cole doesn't give us best chance to win. Sorry

Posted: Jan 8, 2014 7:14 AM

Cole would make the logical choice, however, he is a one and done QB. He will only give Clemson one year and he will be gone. Next year Clemson will be starting the process over again. I am thinking that we need someone who will give us at least 2 year in that position. We cant go thru the process of a new QB every year. It wont work. Longevity is what the team needs.

One and done is the reason he will go in as a starter

Posted: Jan 8, 2014 12:08 PM

Nobody believes that Watson enrolled early just to sit for 2 seasons. He has far more upside than either QBs on the roster. Stoudt will have his season and then Watson comes in and gives us multiple years.

Having Kelly as the starter just means a QB controversy and an unsettled position for the next 2 seasons.

... especially for that 50+yarder against Ohio State. Right?***

Re: Cole doesn't give us best chance to win. Sorry

Posted: Jan 8, 2014 10:03 AM

<<Our offense need a QB who can make plays with his legs, we saw that countless times on many 3rd down and 2 yards situation boyd running over people to get us 1st downs.>>We need a power running game without the QB being the fullback! I am interested to see if McCulough can get that done or Dye or Gallman. The last 2 years we have not had a shomt yardage back so Tahj took the carries....

Be so nice to have calm, collected, cool QB - more accurate

Posted: Jan 8, 2014 10:20 AM

and can run good enough. His strength though will be that he will be better game manager with much less mistakes. And because of the coming on of Gallman as a power back, we don't need a power running QB. Swag can come in as a wildcat qb regularly for a great change of pass. Plus Stoudt has become a precise pinpoint passer. Fans seem to forget he was a high school phen. also!

Re: Cole doesn't give us best chance to win. Sorry

Re: Front Page Story: Will Clemson offense have to rebuild, or just reload?

[1]
Posted: Jan 8, 2014 4:43 AM

While this article does give us some indicationsof who is coming back,it is still my opinionthat we will be rebuilding,not reloading.There are only a few teams in this country that,imo,never fully rebuild,but just reload(Bama/OSU/LSU come to mind.Clemson looses a lot,but we have some good incoming talent.However,I see us in the same boat as a UGA,South Carolina and the likes that are losing a good number of key players ,and will have to rebuild.

Disagree, with experience returnees, best redshirt team yet

Re: Front Page Story: Will Clemson offense have to rebuild, or just reload?

[1]
Posted: Jan 8, 2014 5:55 AM

I think stoudt is the qb. He has proven efficient when called upon and with young receivers a veteran qb is the answer. And contrary to popular opinion our qb ran so much on third and fourth down because he was the biggest person in the backfield. Hence Morris wanting bigger backs.

*Cole world haha***

Tajh was a redshirt sophmore and led us to 10 wins...

[2]
Posted: Jan 8, 2014 6:36 AM

Not to mention that it was his first year in the system. Cole will be a senior with 3 years in the system. Kelly will be a redshirt sophmore with 2 years in the system. There is no reason that we should have any drop in production from the QB position. I don't expect any drops in production from RB or WR either.

Re: Front Page Story: Will Clemson offense have to rebuild, or just reload?

Posted: Jan 8, 2014 8:55 AM

I never saw where everyone is saying Watson will come in right away and take over. Most..like myself, agree he will redshirt and battle Kelly in 2015. I think our offense will be fine in general and the running game will be a lot better if used right. Having some power back there now with Dye and Gallman should do wonders. The O-line just needs to bulk up and get bigger, specially at Tackle.

Re: Front Page Story: Will Clemson offense have to rebuild, or just reload?

Posted: Jan 8, 2014 10:10 AM

I do not think Watson starts but neither do I think he redshirts... he is only going to be here 4 years ... it is a wasted year to red shirt a player that is only staying 4 years. He needs the experience to compete with Kelly next year.

Re: Front Page Story: Will Clemson offense have to rebuild, or just reload?

[1]
Posted: Jan 8, 2014 8:55 AM

I would be shocked if Cole is not the starting QB week one against UGA.

Given the reps that they had this year, it would be very surprising if Chad Kelley beat him out.

...and Watson may have all-world potential, but I doubt his wheels make up for the fact that Cole has been in the system for three years and actually won some games for us; Including, at least one come-back drive after Tahj got hurt, I believe.

We don't need him to be the short yardage runner if either Gallman or Dye can get the job and it isn't like he has been a statue back there. He has picked up first downs with his legs.

It wouldn't kill us to have a pass-first QB and the kid is a ball player. He may only play for one year, but if he can beat the other guys out, or even keep neck and neck with them, I think you have to feed your seniors to keep everybody working who would be great 2/3/4 years from now, rather than just letting them resign themselves that they are going to be a career backup if we have a high profile recruit come in before they leave.

That said, if Watson comes out and sets the world on fire, all bets are off (I'm sure FSU has no regrets about starting a freshman QB) but I think to do it, Watson is going to have to come in and be clearly, undeniably better and that is going to be hard to do by week one given the body of work that Cole has put up.

Winston was a RS FR @FSU...***

Re: Winston was a RS FR @FSU...***

Posted: Jan 8, 2014 10:17 AM

Watson is also enrolling early. He is hungry and has said that he wants to start as a freshman. I expect him to have a good grasp on the playbook by the time the spring game rolls around. He isn't going to just bow down and let Chad or Cole take the job, he will fight and claw until someone tells him to take a seat.

Re: Winston was a RS FR @FSU...***

Posted: Jan 8, 2014 12:37 PM

Watson has also been a regular at Clemson for summer camps... he has been coached by Morris since he committed... he is not going to redshirt unless there are injuries. We may ned him to play if Stoudt and/or kelly are injured.

Re: Front Page Story: Will Clemson offense have to rebuild, or just reload?

Posted: Jan 8, 2014 9:22 AM

Clemson's offense will be great next year. We have some extremely talented players in all of the skilled positions. The offensive line should continue to improve. The running back position is the position I think we will see the most improvement in next year. Gallman and Dye are going to be great. If we have issues, we have several players on the defensive side of the ball that played offensive positions as well. Marcus Edmond(QB),Jadar Johnson(WR;Lead HS team in receiving yards and TDs), and Cordrea Tankersley (WR). If we are not going to use them defensively put the athletes to use.

Re: Front Page Story: Will Clemson offense have to rebuild, or just reload?

Posted: Jan 8, 2014 10:43 AM

Cole Stoudt will shock Tiger Nation, eliminate doubt, and be the continued steadiness we need to keep our winning ways. (and yes we are going to like Kelly and Watson !!) We just need to take a deep breath and enjoy.

LIKE: Cole Stoudt will shock the TigerNation!***

The one thing I question about Stoudt

Posted: Jan 8, 2014 10:50 AM

is that I don't think he's thrown a pass over 15 yards in a game. He's sharp on those short and intermediate routes, but I haven't seen him throw the long ball (or have to stand in the pocket long enough for receivers to get open for a long ball).

I think Stoudt could get passed in the offseason by Kelly, Watson, or both, and go down as the greatest backup QB in Clemson history.

With Gallman and Dye, I think Stoudt will help change the

Posted: Jan 8, 2014 11:55 AM

way we play fb - more running and controlling the ball. He appears to be cool, collected game manager, which is very important to success. Remember, the mistakes Boyd made when excited, and I am concerned Swag may be same way! It will be so refreshing to see us march downfield like Auburn - more running, less passing. And Chad come in a backup wildcat QB.And don't forget, Stoudt came in at end of games with idea of finishing with ball control - not to throw long passes, but I feel he will surprise with his arm!

According to the Final stats

Posted: Jan 8, 2014 12:11 PM

Stoudt has a long of 44 yards and 4 completions of 20 yards or more. Not sure the situations with either of those. They could have been swing passes that busted long yardage. But given the times that he would have been in the games, I can't see him being given many opportunities to throw a deep pass. It would be viewed as running up the score.